Crosman 1322 Review (Complete Guide)

If you’re trying to find yourself the ultimate air pistol for backyard pellet target practice, then you may be in luck by finding this Crosman 1322 review. This is a classic pistol for that very purpose, and it also works great for varmint control.

At first glance, this looks like a regular pistol, except the barrel of the gun seems to come from a rifle. The 13.6-inch barrel itself is rifled, which improves its accuracy.

Combine that with the velocity that can reach 460 feet per second, and you have a multi-purpose air pistol that can give you the power and accuracy you need.

This Crosman 1322 review focuses on the .22 version. If you’re looking for the .177 version, you need the 1377 version.

Pros and Cons of Crosman 1322

Features and Benefits of Crosman 1322

Dependable

The Crosman 1322 features a single-shot bolt action, instead of a semi-automatic design. That makes it a lot more dependable. There are good reasons why so many hunters today still use the classic bolt-action over the semi-automatic design.

The main reason for the bolt-action dependability is the simplicity of the design. With few moving parts, you have fewer components that can go wrong.

That’s in stark contrast with semi-automatics. The semi-auto is more complicated, as it has more moving parts. That means more things can go wrong. Historically, the reliability of bolt-action rifles has been proven over the years.

The bolt-action design is also much easier to learn. You don’t have to be an expert to use this weapon. In addition, it’s also easier to maintain.

Lightweight

Again, the simple design of the bolt action helps to explain why this pistol isn’t all that heavy. It weighs only a little over 2 pounds, and it’s comfortable to wield and use. It uses metal mixed with high-impact plastic to keep the weight down.

Try this out over an afternoon of backyard plinking, and fatigue won’t be too much of an issue.

Accurate

You might already suspect that this air pistol is much more accurate than a regular pistol, and you’d be right. After all, the barrel is much longer here.

More importantly, the barrel is rifled. That means there are grooves on the inside of the barrel that induces your pellets to spin as it goes straight to your target.

The importance of this spinning movement greatly enhances the accuracy of the pellets. Consider throwing an ordinary football without a spin, and you’ll understand why the spin is so crucial.

This means you can rule the backyard plinking competitions by using this, going against ordinary pistols or even most semi-automatic air rifles. Even if you’re not that good yet and you use this right out of the box, you can get a small grouping from your shots at 10 meters.

If you use a bag rest (and if you have even moderate shooting skills), you can even hit a circle that measures an inch across with your pellets.

Great Adjustable Power

Finally, you can get up to 460 fps. That’s very powerful, and it has enough power to kill vermin such as rats from a good distance.

It all depends on how many pumps you put in. But go with the 10 pumps for maximum effect. That’s powerful enough to get through tin cans, which means the pellets can kill rats and other types of vermin.

This is even accurate up to 20 yards, with 10 pumps. But at that range, you’ll want to use it on stationary targets. Also, a bag rest can really help.

Durable

This came in a nice package that kept the air pistol safe during delivery. Once it arrives on your doorstep, it’s pretty much ready to shoot right out of the box.

This doesn’t need a lot of maintenance either. Just don’t abuse the weapon, and it’ll take good care of your shooting needs for a long while.

No Need for Mods

It’s true that you can put in some mods here to make it perform better. Some even put in so many mods that the modded pistol is basically a different weapon altogether.

But the truth is that you don’t need to put in mods here. You can use this as is, even without the laser sights and other enhancements.

Sure, the trigger seems off at first. But the challenging design of the trigger can help you develop greater trigger control. Just focus on the squeeze of the trigger, and the sights won’t bob around too much as you gain more skill.

The same goes with the pump handle. If you’re new to this, there’s a good chance that the pump handle design will leave you with pinched fingers at first.

But don’t be tempted to mod this feature right away. Just practice with it first. Sooner rather than later, you’ll get used to the pump handle and you won’t have a problem with it anymore.

Great Price

This is quite a gun for such a low price. Look at it this way—it costs way less than a video game for your PS4, and yet the shooting experience you get here is much more realistic.

This is well made, quite powerful, and very accurate. It’s not hard to find guns that cost 5 times as much which still doesn’t quite match the performance of this air pistol.

Frequently Asked Questions of Crosman 1322

How many times do you have to pump the .22 caliber to shoot?

It’s recommended that you pump this at least 3 times to get the minimum amount of power that can do a bit of good for you. The maximum number of pumps recommended is 10 times.

Can you kill rats, chipmunks, sparrows, starlings, crows, rabbits and squirrels with it?

That depends on your ammo, and the number of pumps you take. It also depends on how close you are to the vermin you’re trying to hit.

But the short answer to this question is yes. Actually, plenty of people use this for that very purpose.

What is the best holster for this pistol?

This doesn’t come with a holster along with your purchase, but you can get one separately. Some folks recommend checking out holsters from Uncle Mike’s Handgun Accessories, though you should also try Cabela’s.

But you don’t really need a holster for this. It’s best if you treat it like a rifle, because the barrel really is quite long.

Are there any mods/ upgrades to bump the max fps?

With the 460fps rating, you don’t really need to boost the max fps any higher. At this level, it’s more than adequate for backyard plinking and varmint control.

With some Googling, you can find mods that can boost the max fps up to more than 700 fps. But you will need a lot more pumps for that kind of power, ranging from 15 pumps up to 25 pumps.

However, one easy way you can use lightweight RWS 11.9 grain wadcutter Hobby pellets, and with 10 pumps you can get at least 500 fps.

How fast can you pump it?

Pumping the air pistol doesn’t really take a lot of time. You can probably pump this once per second.

But you also have to account for other actions. That means putting the safety on, pumping, pulling back the bolt, putting in the pellet, and then pushing the bolt back home.

If you need to pump this 10 times, then you can probably get the whole sequence done in about 20 seconds.

How many pumps to get the max 460 FPS?

It should take about 10 pumps.

Can it be shot left-handed?

For shooting, yes, it can be used by a southpaw.

However, the loading breech faces right, which is more convenient for a right-handed person.

What is the best ammo to use in this pistol for pest control?

Now this is really a matter of preference. But the 14.3 grain Crosman Premier hollowpoints should work fine for varmints.

Conclusion

Try this Crosman 1322 for yourself, and in all likelihood, you’ll join the crowd of satisfied customers who have already heaped praises for this air pistol. It’s an absolute steal at this price range.

With this, you can go with some fun target practice in your backyard or when you’re camping. It won’t let you down, especially if you’re going against an ordinary pistol. It’s more accurate than a lot of semi-autos.

For varmint control, it’s fantastic. Plenty of old people (and even drunks, though it’s not recommended that you use this when you’ve been drinking) have confessed that they’re able to hit targets at about 20 feet away. You don’t really need to be very skilled to use this.

But you can use this to improve your skills, nonetheless. Use this for practice, and you become a lot more accurate even at 20 yards.